Give First is now available to pre-order in Audiobook format (it will be officially released on 12/2/26). I’m the reader, so if you are an audiobook person, you’ll have to listen to me for a few hours. It was fun doing the recording (I’ve done the audio recording for two other books – Venture Deals (Jason and I alternated chapters) and Startup Life . ...
I love to experiment with new things. Some of the experiments work. Many don’t. When they work, I do more of them. When they don’t, I adjust my hypothesis and try a different experiment. When I published The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem , I ran an online community with it for a year (2020), which overlapped with COVID, so it was weird on multiple dimensions. The software I used was good, but it evolved into a “monetize your community” type of thing, which wasn’t my goal. I learned a lot from this experience (good and bad). ...
I recently had a 30-minute chat (the average length of the Give First podcast interviews that I do) with Bobby Franklin , the CEO of the National Venture Capital Association . We’ve been supporters of the NVCA for many years. Two Foundry partners, Jaclyn Hester and Jason Mendelson, have served on the board at different periods. I was an early donor to Venture Forward , the NVCA’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We unpack the disconnect between Washington, D.C., and the startup world. As part of this, we discuss why that gap poses a growing threat to innovation in the U.S. ...
I’m on my way to Kansas City for the day to spend time with the Kauffman Foundation at the 1 Million Cups annual meeting, talking about Give First: The Power of Mentorship . My drive to the airport started off with an intimate conversation with a close friend who recently got a cancer diagnosis that compounds another serious health issue he’s been battling. Consequently, I’m in a pensive and reflective mode right now. ...
I spent two days in Toronto (hosted by Matt Golden at Golden Ventures) and a day in Upstate New York (hosted by Martin Babinec ) this week as part of the launch of Give First: The Power of Mentorship . Many others were involved in making this a fantastic trip that touched over a thousand people. Extra special thanks to Julia Baird and Olivia Goldstein for the awesome support. ...
Give First: The Power of Mentorship is now available in both physical and Kindle formats. BradTheBookSalesman says, “Don’t wait, buy it today!” And yes, someday it will be available as an audiobook. As a bonus, my long-time friend Andy Sack’s book AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand is also launching today. BradTheBookSalesman says, “Buy Andy’s book also! Make it a two-fer.” ...
The Kindle version of Give First: The Power of Mentorship launched today and is available for 50% of the regular Kindle price. Brad the Book Salesman says, “Please still buy the regular version also, but if you want an early look, buy the Kindle version today to help my Amazon ranking. And to get an early read of the book.” Amazon Reviews and Goodreads Reviews are now live. If you’ve read an early version and are willing, please share your thoughts with a review.
My morning started early with a 6:30 a.m. drive to Denver to give a talk about Give First: The Power of Mentorship , which Erik Mitisek had organized for a group of Denver-area founders. In it, one of Erik’s questions caused me to go off on a riff about authenticity, which led me to one of the Techstars Mentor Manifesto items titled Be Authentic—Practice: What You Preach and a section in the book titled Nonsense Phrases Such as “I’m Value Added”. I gave the example in the section Being Full of Value‑Added Shit and explained that when I hear someone say “I’m an (adjective) (noun)” I insert (in my brain) the word “not” after the word “I’m.” From the book: ...
Wow did I need that this morning! I was feeling tired and a little down before our call. I slept until the last possible minute before starting a Techstars Managing Director Alumni Network . While that cheered me up somewhat and gave me some energy, I followed it with another call with a CEO/investor/long-time friend where we spent some of the time wrestling with things going on in the US right now. My energy coming out of this was low and my mood was “meh.” ...
I’ve been having a lot of fun at public events around the launch of my new book, Give First: The Power of Mentorship . I’ve got a handful of events left in Boulder before Amy and I head to Aspen for the summer. 6/5: Denver: Techstars Workforce Development Demo Day + Give First with Brad Feld 6/10: Boulder: CoinGeek Startup Spotlight: From Entrepreneur to Enterprise 6/12: Boulder: New Tech ft. Give First Fireside Chat w/ Brad Feld For the past two days, I was in Indianapolis at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2025 . The last time I was at GEC was in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. Even then, I was talking about Give Before You Get , a concept I had introduced in Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City , which I wrote in 2012. And, I had longer hair. ...